Florida City Prepares to Outlaw First Amendment

The city fathers in Winter Park, Florida, are one vote shy of shutting down the First Amendment.

Isaac Babcorck, writing for the Winter Park / Maitland Observer, reports that the Winter Park City Commission earlier this week gave preliminary approval to make an “emergency public safety ordinance” permanent.

The ordinance bans protests within 50 feet of a residential home. It was imposed after anti-abortion activists protested outside the home of a “notable resident” Jenna Tosh in August. Tosh is the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando. She told the city she felt “threatened and ambushed” by anti-abortion protestors on a public street outside her home.

City Commission members shut down the First Amendment in response to anti-abortion messages and images on placards displayed during the demonstration, including images of aborted fetuses. The city immediately imposed a 60-day ordinance banning protests in residential areas. The Commission voted to make that ordinance permanent.